Tag: Utah Utes

List of Power Five schools that are winless against the LSU Tigers

A look at the 15 Power Five schools that are a combined 0-29 against the LSU Tigers. Can you name them?

The history of the LSU Tigers football program dates back to the 1893 season. Continue reading “List of Power Five schools that are winless against the LSU Tigers”

Ale Kaho pivots on transfer destination, chooses another Pac-12 school

Former Crimson Tide linebacker Ale Kaho originally picked Utah as his transfer destination, but he has since changed his mind.

Ale Kaho entered the transfer portal in mid-February. Less than a week later, the now former Alabama linebacker announced he would be finishing his college career at Utah.

Well, that decision may have been a little premature. In fact, we now know that it was. On Monday night, Kaho once again took to Twitter to another that he wouldn’t be joining the Utes.

Instead, he’ll join another school from the Pac-12 — UCLA. It’s an interesting pivot for the former four-star prospect, but Kaho clearly feels like that’s the better opportunity for him. He mentioned as much in his tweet.

https://twitter.com/Brandonkah0/status/1369093468191141888?s=20

The Bruins are known for putting quality linebackers in the NFL, so this decision makes sense from that aspect. Whether it’s Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, Jayon Brown or others, the quality play at the position has been consistent.

He’ll still end up out west, and it will still be in the same conference. It’ll just be with Chip Kelly and UCLA. Either way, good for Kaho!

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Former Alabama LB Ale Kaho chooses transfer destination

Former Alabama linebacker Ale Kaho has committed to finish his college career with the Utah Utes in the Pac-12.

Ale Kaho only entered the transfer portal six days ago. The now former Alabama linebacker already has his destination picked out, however.

On Thursday night, Kaho tweeted that he would be finishing his collegiate career at Utah. This is a massive get for the Utes, as Kaho has plenty of experience on special teams — and some on defense.

“It’s up there and it’s stuck there,” Kaho tweeted. “Believe this one personal.”

Kaho’s most important contribution for the Crimson Tide was on special teams where he blocked multiple punts and made key tackles. He was also a valuable depth piece at linebacker.

Roll Tide Wire wants to wish him luck at his next destination!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Roll Tide Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.

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Former Alabama LB Ale Kaho chooses transfer destination

Former Alabama linebacker Ale Kaho committed to finish his college career with the Utah Utes in the Pac-12.

Ale Kaho entered the transfer portal six days ago, but the now former Alabama linebacker already has his destination picked out.

On Thursday night, Kaho tweeted he would finish his collegiate career at Utah. This is a massive get for the Utes. Kaho has plenty of experience on special teams — and some on defense.

“It’s up there and it’s stuck there,” Kaho tweeted. “Believe this one personal.”

Kaho’s most important contribution for the Crimson Tide was on special teams where he blocked multiple punts and made key tackles. He was also a valuable depth piece at linebacker.

Roll Tide Wire wants to wish him luck at his next destination!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Roll Tide Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.

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Men’s college golf player of the week: Blake Tomlinson, Utah

Utah junior Blake Tomlinson earned the honor of men’s college golf Player of the Week thanks to a record-setting performance.

It’s not easy to shoot three consecutive sub-70 rounds in college golf. Utah freshman Jesper von Reedtz accomplished the feat at last week’s Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational, but it still wasn’t enough to earn the win.

Why? He was one-upped by his junior teammate Blake Tomlinson, who earned his second collegiate win thanks to rounds of 65-67-69 to finish at 15 under, setting a program record for lowest 54-hole score.

“I came into the tournament with a good and confident attitude because I knew my game was there, I just needed to get my putter working,” said Tomlinson. “Throughout the tournament, I kept telling myself, ‘stay within yourself,’ and that helped me stay focused on every shot regardless of what was going on around me. It feels great to win individually and as a team. It tells me that I did my part to contribute towards the main goal of playing well as a team. With that being said, there is still a lot of work to do.”

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
College golf blog: The Road to Grayhawk

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Former Oklahoma RB T.J. Pledger transferring to Utah

Former Oklahoma running back T.J. Pledger announced he is transferring to Utah on Monday.

Former Oklahoma running back T.J. Pledger announced back on Dec. 21st that he was entering the transfer portal to look for a new home, and now he has announced his landing spot.

Pledger announced via Twitter on Monday that he will be taking his talents to the Pac-12 to join Utah.

A lot was asked of Pledger early in the year to fill the void left by Rhamondre Stevenson while he was out due to suspension, and he did some nice things in his time. In nine games last season, he ran for 451 yards and five touchdowns. His breakout performance was his outing against Texas in the Red River Showdown when he had 131 yards on the ground and two scores in the quadruple overtime Sooners win.

Pledger now joins a Utes team that finished the season at 3-2 in their abbreviated conference slate, winning each of their final three games. He’ll be set to make his debut with his new team on Sep. 2nd at home against Weber State.

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College football world reacts to tragic passing of Utah running back Ty Jordan

Rest in Peace, Ty Jordan.

Utah Utes freshman running back Ty Jordan passed away, according to a statement released from the university on Saturday.

This is all so devastating. Jordan was just 19 years old — he was a kid. He also just had a fantastic season and was recently named the Pac-12’s Freshman Offensive Player of the Year. But, more than that, he was beloved by his teammates and coaches.

All the details of Jordan’s tragic passing have not yet been revealed, The university did confirm Jordan’s passing with a tweet on Saturday morning. Head coach Kyle Whittingham also released a statement on Jordan’s tragic passing, saying the team was devastated and heartbroken by the news.

 

Whittingham talked about the mark Jordan left on the program and how much they’ll miss him.

“Ty’s personality and smile were infectious and he made a huge impact on our program in the short time he was with us. He leaves an indelible mark on each of us and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. From the bottom of our hearts, all of us in the Utah Football Family want to say we love you Ty and may you rest in peace.” 

College football fans and players, including some of Jordan’s teammates, reacted to the tragic news.

Utah star running back Ty Jordan dies at 19

Ty Jordan was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after rushing for 597 yards and six touchdowns in just five games for the Utah Utes.

Horrible news broke on Saturday afternoon as the University of Utah has confirmed the death of star Utes running back Ty Jordan. He was 19.

From ESPN:

The Denton Police Department in Texas told ESPN that its officers responded to a shooting call at 10:38 p.m. ET on Friday. Officers discovered a gunshot victim who had been shot one time. After applying life-saving measures, the victim was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

“Following a preliminary investigation, we do believe that this was an accidental shooting, where the victim accidentally shot himself,” Denton Police Department public information officer Allison Beckwith told ESPN.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham released a statement:

“Words cannot express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling right now upon learning of the tragic death of our teammate and brother, Ty Jordan. Ty’s personality and smile were infectious and he made a huge impact on our program in the short time he was with us. He leaves an indelible mark on each of us and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.  From the bottom of our hearts, all of us in the Utah Football Family want to say we love you Ty and may you rest in peace.”

Jordan was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after rushing for 597 yards and six touchdowns in five games.

Watch: Jerry’s Rice’s son, Brenden, with punt return for Colorado TD

Brenden Rice, son of Jerry, with an 81-yard punt return for a Colorado TD

The ball in the hands of Jerry Rice often ended up in the end zone. Like father, like son, it seems.

Brenden Rice collected a Utah punt at the Colorado 19 on Saturday and 81 yards later was untouched into the end zone.

Brenden Rice has some of the same moves and savvy his dad had during a Hall of Fame career that earned him the title as the G.O.A.T. when it came to wideouts and players, in general.

Brenden’s dad put up some amazing college stats:

Jerry Rice had 50 touchdown receptions at Mississippi Valley. As a sophomore, Rice caught 66 passes for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns. The next year he set NCAA Division I-AA records for receptions (102) and receiving yards (1,450). As a senior, he broke his own marks for receptions (103) and receiving yards (1,682) and his 27 touchdown receptions in 1984 set the NCAA mark for all divisions. Rice finished ninth in the 1984 Heisman Trophy voting and finished his college career with 301 catches for 4,693 yards.

Longhorns Football: Is Urban Meyer on a collision course at Texas?

With the struggles continuing for the Texas Longhorns and Tom Herman, is Urban Meyer a realistic possibility in Austin?

The Texas Longhorns lost two-straight games heading into the bye. They lost by a combined 10 points but losses nonetheless. The unfortunate part is not having another game to prepare for this past week. Much the reason why the focus this week for good reason has been the job status of Tom Herman. Horns247 even discussed a potential replacement for Herman, no one other than his former boss. The question on their minds is can Urban Meyer win at Texas?

During his time as the athletic director at Texas, Chris Del Conte has made two major hires for the athletics department. CDC hired Mike White to take over the softball program. Connie Clark was the only coach in the history of the Longhorns softball program. Clark won 873 games dating back to 1997. Del Conte hired Mike White away from Oregon, in his first season, he led them to 41 wins and a NCAA Super Regional appearance.

White led the Ducks to back to back Women’s College World Series appearances. While he didn’t win the championship in either year, he was a proven coach. In 2020, the softball team was 24-3 and defeated the top two teams in the country before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. White has them going in the right direction.

In another personnel move, Del Conte decided to move on from women’s basketball coach Karen Aston. Instead he brought in Vic Schaefer from Mississippi State. Schaefer led his team to back-to-back NCAA runner-up finishes and an Elite Eight run. Another coach who has shown proven success, but has yet to reach the pinnacle.

It seems relatively clear that Chris Del Conte wants to create a winning culture at Texas and he is doing it with bringing in coaches who have won. Both hires have shown they know how to get to championship games. So now all eyes turn to the football team. If Herman is indeed gone at season’s end, does CDC turn to Meyer?

Does Urban Meyer meet the immediate criteria? Absolutely. He led the Utah Utes to an unbeaten season with Alex Smith at quarterback. Meyer was 22-2 at Utah with that unbeaten season in 2004 that ended with a Fiesta Bowl victory. He left for Florida and won two National Championships. He was 65-16 in six seasons at Florida. Seven years in his last stop at Ohio State. Again he won a National Championship. His final record was 83-9 record before stepping away in 2018.

Overall Meyer has won everywhere he has been with a final record of 187-32. For reference, since Mack Brown the Longhorns have lost 38 games dating back to 2014. Meyer has led his team to 10 conference championships since 2005, while Texas has won just two in that same timeframe. None of which for Texas has come since 2009.

Outside of winning football games, recruiting is another major avenue to consider. Until the 2020 class, Tom Herman has had a top 10 class. Looking at the last five years, the Longhorns average class has been 10.4 in that span. Prior to Herman, the Longhorns two classes finished as the No. 11 (2015) and No. 26 (2016) classes. The Buckeyes finished 5.4 according to a five-year study using recruiting rankings.

While recruiting hasn’t been an issue under Herman, there has been no development. Something that Meyer has harped on when doing the Big Noon Kickoff show on Fox Sports. The Longhorns have yet to have a first round pick since 2015 when Malcom Brown was selected No. 32 overall. That is one of the metrics that Meyer used when talking about a lack of development. The other schools in the top of the recruiting rankings produce plenty of NFL talent and have success on the field.

It is hard to fathom that having Meyer as the head coach wouldn’t swing recruiting into the Longhorns favor. Not in regards to just rankings, but also in the state of Texas. Winning recruiting in the state would help the school immensely. Texas has seen their talent in-state leave for Oklahoma, Ohio State, Alabama, etc. It would be a way to win in-state. During his time at Utah, Meyer was able to win without top tier talent as his recruiting classes were never higher than 60th.

According to a Rival’s article on Urban Meyer, he averaged a recruiting ranking of 3.66. Which means that he signs an average class of fourth or better each year. Meyer also singed a top three class nine times and 35 five-star prospects. Put him in Texas which is a major pipeline for talent and that likely continues.

The big question surrounding Urban has everything to do with off the field issues. He stepped away for health concerns more than once. While that needs to be taken into consideration, as a coach he gets results on the field. When it comes to top coaches available at this point, Meyer is the big fish. He was linked to the Dallas Cowboys job before they hired Mike McCarthy.

That gives the inclination that he in fact does want to come back to coaching. With Chris Ash already on the staff, he would likely remain as Meyer has spoke glowingly about him at every opportunity. Whether or not Meyer gets an opportunity to interview for the job, he seems to fit what Del Conte wants at head coach.

There is still time for Tom Herman to quiet these rumors but he needs to make a run at the Big 12 Championship. That likely means winning six-straight games and that starts with Baylor on Oct. 24 hopefully.